22/04/19 – Behind the scenes of the FIM Trial World Championship there’s a hard-working family…
The thousands of fans expected to flock to the 2019 FIM Trial World Championship will see some of the hard-working team who make the series happen in action but this is just the tip of the iceberg – behind the scenes there is an international family of committed workers, all pulling together to produce a championship fully deserving of its ‘World’ status.
Think of it as being like a swan – cool and collected on the surface but there is actually a frenzy of unseen activity propelling the championship forwards with upwards of 15 different nationalities involved in the smooth running of the series!
The man at the top needs no introduction. Three-time FIM TrialGP World Champion Thierry Michaud is FIM Trial Director in charge of overseeing and collaborating all the aspects of the championship.
“Much of the work goes on in ‘the shadows’,” he explains. “Behind the scenes there is a big team working to benefit our Trial discipline, whether they are professionals at FIM headquarters, external employees or volunteers.
“Then there are the people we see at events, also professionals and volunteers. The FIM is making enormous efforts to bring skilled, knowledgeable people into the series – especially this year now we have taken over the role of promoter.
“All tasks are technically difficult and require a lot of experience to ensure the championship runs at the highest level and to be Director of this discipline is to have absolute confidence in all these people, to be proud of their work while being attentive and responsible for their actions.
“And we must not forget the national federations, manufacturers, private teams and, of course, the riders with their assistants or parents – they are all part of the success of the championship.”
The logistics of organising the championship are staggering with essential event elements ranging from timing and results down to the construction of the podium and on-site office. Then there’s television production to consider along with global media reach through photographs and press releases.
An FIM Championship Manager, two Race Directors, two Section Advisors, several FIM Chief Stewards and an FIM Technical Director all have vital roles to play and there’s also support from Medical and Sustainability delegates.
Add in the skilled FIM Legal, Financial, Environmental and IT departments along with the busy Marketing and Communications team and someone devoted to administrative duties ranging from managing entries to press accreditation and you can see it’s a big international family sharing the same vision – to deliver an incredible FIM Trial World Championship!
